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UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST
FACULTY OF PHYSICS Guest
2024-11-23 17:49 |
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Conference: Bucharest University Faculty of Physics 2014 Meeting
Section: Nuclear and Elementary Particles Physics
Title:
Interdisciplinary physics with energetic cosmic rays induced air showers
Authors:
Paula Gina ISAR
Affiliation:
Institute of Space Science, ISS, Bucharest-Magurele
E-mail
gina.isar@spacescience.ro
Keywords:
space science, cosmic rays, extensive air showers, astroparticle detectors, atmospheric physics
Abstract:
The Earth is continuously bombarded by energetic cosmic rays (CRs). CRs are charged sub-atomic particles produced and accelerated for instance by supernovae explosions or by active galactic nuclei hosted in active galaxies beyond our Milky Way galaxy.
While a primary cosmic ray particle coming from the outer space penetrates the Earth's atmosphere it interacts with e.g. atoms, molecules or atmospheric particles and produces an avalanching cascade of many secondary particles which develop further in the atmosphere and form the body of the so-called Extensive Air Shower (EAS). The secondary (mainly charged) cosmic ray particles excite the nitrogen atmospheric molecules and produce a fluorescence light which can be observed during moonless nights from the ground or from space.
The atmosphere is used as a giant calorimeter where EASs are initiated and the medium through which fluorescence (or Cerenkov) light propagates. However, due to unstable weather conditions which affect the air shower observation (and implicitly the shower simulation and reconstruction), environmental monitoring is of paramount importance to be performed at the location of the astroparticle detectors. The interdisciplinary link between cosmic rays and the atmosphere will be presented.
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